Energy saving method for room level heating and cooling system

ABSTRACT

A heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system includes a thermostat, a temperature sensor, a plurality of occupancy sensors in a plurality of zones in a room in a building, a plurality of airflow vents in the plurality of zones in the room, and a motor coupled to each of the plurality of airflow vents. The system receives temperature set point data from the thermostat, receives temperature data from the temperature sensor, receives occupancy data from the occupancy sensors, turns on a heating unit or a cooling unit as a function of the temperature set point data from the thermostat and the temperature data from the temperature sensor, and controls the flow of heated air or cooled air into the zones in the room by transmitting a signal to one or more of the motors so as to adjust the plurality of airflow vents in the room.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 61/921,825, filed on Dec. 30, 2013, entitled EnergySaving Method for Room Level Cooling System, the contents of which arehereby incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to heating, ventilating, and airconditioning (HVAC) systems, and in an embodiment, but not by way oflimitation, an energy saving method for a room level heating and coolingsystem.

BACKGROUND

In a Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system, cooledair and/or heated air are valuable resources that should be minimized inspaces that do not need much of it at a particular point in time, andshould be delivered in greater volume to areas that require more of itat a particular point in time. Additionally, the space demands forcooled and/or heated air can be dynamic based on equipment load and/orthe number of people occupying different locations at different times.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC)system.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a room or zone level HVAC system.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are a block diagram illustrating operations and featuresof an energy saving method for a room level or zone level HVAC system.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate airflow paths of an HVAC system.

FIG. 5 illustrates pressure optimization among a plurality of fans in anHVAC system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way ofillustration specific embodiments which may be practiced. Theseembodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilledin the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood thatother embodiments may be utilized and that structural and electricalchanges may be made without departing from the scope of the presentembodiments. The following description of example embodiments is,therefore, not to be taken in a limited sense, and the scope of thepresent embodiments is defined by the appended claims.

One or more embodiments of energy saving methods for room level, andmore particularly, zones within a room, heating, ventilating, and airconditioning (HVAC) systems are disclosed herein. The HVAC systemsinclude several features and advantages. The HVAC systems permit bettercontrol through the creation and management of virtual zones. Virtualzones are zones demarcated by computer processor intelligence and/or theplacement of output airflow vents and intake airflow vents, and caninclude several areas or zones within a single room or area. Theembodiments can also function in a conglomeration of several physicalrooms, and/or actual rooms or areas formed by physical barriers such aswalls or partitions.

Another feature and advantage of the HVAC systems of the presentdisclosure are that the HVAC systems permit occupancy override. Forexample, when a zone is occupied by one or more persons, two controlsare implemented. First, the airflow vents in the occupied room or zoneare opened, kept open, or opened more to permit airflow or more airflowinto that occupied zone or room. Second, the airflow vents in unoccupiedrooms or zones are closed, allowed to remain closed, or closed to agreater degree to restrict airflow to the unoccupied room or zone. Theintelligent control of the airflow vents supplies heated air or cooledair to occupied zones and withholds heated air or cooled air fromunoccupied zones.

An example of the controlled opening or closing of airflow vents isillustrated in FIG. 5. Referring to FIG. 5, a simple airflow vent systemincludes a blower unit 510, a duct 520, and vents 530A, 530B, and 530C.Vent 530C is the nearest to blower unit 510, and vent 530A is thefarthest from blower unit 510. In this example system, to double theairflow at airflow vent 530A, the blower unit 510 has to generate fourtimes the pressure and consume eight times the power (when compared toan HVAC system without intelligent airflow vent control). The reason forthis is that some of the airflow travels to and through vents 530B and530C, thereby doubling the airflow at all airflow vents (and not justairflow vent 530A). However, by intelligently managing airflow ventcontrol at 530B and 530C, the airflow at vent 530A may be doubled withless than eight times the power.

In an embodiment, the positioning or repositioning of airflow ventsresults in airflow path optimization and eliminates uncooled or unheatedareas or zones (dead spots) and overheated or overcooled areas or zones.For example, referring to FIG. 4A, the airflow vents 410A, 420A are notproperly spaced in a room or zone, and this improper spacing results ina short circuit 430 of airflow, which results in a potentiallyoverheated or overcooled area or zone 440 and an under heated orundercooled area or dead zone 450. In contrast, referring to FIG. 4B,the air flow vents 410B, 420B are properly spaced at opposite ends of aroom or zone, and airflow is evenly distributed throughout the entireroom, area, or zone. As can be seen from FIGS. 4A and 4B, the locationof the air inlet and air exhaust airflow vents determines the efficiencyof cooling or heating because the airflow path within a room, area, orzone is maximized. If needed, existing airflow vents in a room, area, orzone should be repositioned. The resulting air pressure optimizationminimizes air mover (i.e., air handling unit, blower, fan) powerutilization.

Another feature and advantage of an HVAC system with intelligent ventcontrol are that the virtual zones can be synchronized for minimum HVACresource utilization. For example, if there are multiple HVAC units, anda particular virtual zone is in need of cooling air because it isoccupied by one or more persons, a HVAC unit that is closest to thevirtual zone can be selected. Similarly, in a building that has multipleHVAC units, the use of the multiple units can be optimized based on zoneoccupancy, temperature in the different virtual zones, relative locationof the demand for heated or cooled air, and the locations of themultiple HVAC unit locations. For example, if multiple occupied zonesare in need of heated or cooled air, the units that are closest to themultiple zones can be used to supply the heated or cooled air (inconnection with opening or keeping open the vents in those multipleoccupied zones).

These features and advantages are particularly evident when consideredin view of prior HVAC systems. Referring to FIG. 1, a typical room in abuilding, especially a large office building and a large room withcubicles in that building, includes a thermostat 110, a temperaturesensor 120, and a plurality of airflow vents 130. The airflow vents 130in FIG. 1 are positioned on the ceiling, but in other systems, theairflow vents 130 can be positioned on the floor and/or walls. In somesystems, the thermostat 110 and temperature sensor 120 are a singleunit, in other systems, the thermostat 110 and temperature sensor 120are distinct and separate units. The airflow vents 130 have either nocontrols, or only manual controls. As further illustrated in FIG. 1,such systems provide imperfect heating and/or cooling, with no attentionpaid to particular zones or areas within the room, which results in someoccupants of the room or zones within a room being uncomfortable.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a room level or zone level HVACsystem. Specifically, FIG. 2 illustrates an example of the creation ofvirtual zones in a room or area. In FIG. 2, there is a first virtualzone 210 and a second virtual zone 220. Each zone has its owntemperature sensor 230. Each zone can also have its own thermostat 240.In another embodiment, the zones 210, 220 share a thermostat, and/orthere is a central thermostat for a plurality of zones and/or an entirebuilding. Each zone 210 and 220 further includes its own occupancysensors 250. The occupancy sensors 250 can include video sensors, motionsensors, infrared sensors, pressure sensors, or any other type of sensorthat can detect the presence of a person or persons in a room or zone.If pressure sensors are used, the pressure sensors can be installedunder carpet or tile in a floor to sense the presence of a person orpersons. Each zone further includes its own airflow vents 260, and alsoincludes control servomotors 265 to control the opening and closing ofthe airflow vents 260. The temperature sensor 230 and thermostat 240 arecoupled to a computer process controller 270, which determines when theheating unit or air conditioning unit should be turned on or turned offbased on the set point of the thermostat 240 and the temperature sensedby the temperature sensor 230. In order to simplify the drawing, FIG. 2illustrates that the computer processor is connected only to thetemperature sensor 230, the thermostat 240, the occupancy sensor 250,and the control servomotors 265 in first virtual zone 210. However, inan actual implementation, the computer processor 270 would also beconnected to the temperature sensor 230, the thermostat 240, theoccupancy sensor 250, and the control servomotors 265 in second virtualzone 220 and any other virtual zone in the building. In an embodiment,when there are multiple thermostats in multiple zones, the temperaturedata and set point from a single zone can cause the heating unit or airconditioning unit to turn on or turn off. The occupancy sensor 250,airflow vents 260, and control servomotor 265 are also coupled to thecomputer processor controller 270. The computer processor controller 270receives data from the occupancy sensor 250, and transmits a signal tothe control servomotor 265 to open or close the airflow vent 260 basedon the data received from the occupancy sensor 250. The controlledopening and closing of the airflow vents allows for zones within a roomto be controlled independently around local temperature sensors, allowsfor precise temperature zone control, and allows zone control operationto be overridden by occupancy of the zone.

This process of occupancy-based zone control is illustrated is FIGS. 3Aand 3B, which is a block diagram illustrating operations and features ofan energy saving method for a room level or zone level HVAC system.FIGS. 3A and 3B includes a number of process blocks 305-375. Thougharranged substantially serially in the example of FIGS. 3A and 3B, otherexamples may reorder the blocks, omit one or more blocks, and/or executetwo or more blocks in parallel using multiple processors or a singleprocessor organized as two or more virtual machines or sub-processors.Moreover, still other examples can implement the blocks as one or morespecific interconnected hardware or integrated circuit modules withrelated control and data signals communicated between and through themodules. Thus, any process flow is applicable to software, firmware,hardware, and hybrid implementations.

Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, at 305, a computer processor receivestemperature set point data from a thermostat in a building. At 310, thecomputer processor receives temperature data from a temperature sensorin the in the building. At 315, the computer processor receivesoccupancy data from occupancy sensors. In an embodiment, the occupancysensors are located in virtual zones within a room in the building. Eachvirtual zone has its own occupancy sensor. The virtual zones can bewithin a large open area that is without any physical partitions, andare formed by the combination of the placement of airflow vents andcomputer logic. Each virtual zone can have its own thermostat, a singlethermostat can serve several virtual zones, or a single thermostat canserve all virtual zones. In most instances, each virtual zone has itsown dedicated temperature sensor. However, two or more virtual zonescould share a temperature sensor.

At 320, the computer processor turns on a heating unit or a cooling unitas a function of the temperature set point data from the thermostat andthe temperature data from the temperature sensor. In an embodiment, thetemperature data and set point from a single virtual zone can cause theheating unit or air conditioning unit to turn on or turn off. At 325,the computer processor controls the flow of heated air or cooled airinto the several virtual zones in a room in the building by adjustingseveral airflow vents in the several virtual zones as a function of thedata received from the occupancy sensors. In an embodiment, the computerprocessor transmits a signal to a servomotor associated with an airflowvent, and the servomotor opens or closes the airflow vent based on thesignal received from the computer processor.

At 340, it is noted that the occupancy sensor can be an infrared sensor,a video sensor, a motion sensor, and/or a pressure sensor. Each type ofsensor may have a particular advantage or disadvantage for a particularapplication, and a person of skill in the art will be able to determinewhich sensor or combination of sensors is appropriate for any particularapplication.

At 350, a first airflow vent is placed at a first edge of a virtual zoneand a second airflow vent is place at an opposite second edge of thevirtual zone. This placement is ideally done when a building isconstructed. However, such airflow vents can be repositioned in aretrofitting or refurbishing of a room and/or building. As noted abovein connection with FIGS. 4A and 4B, the proper placement of the airflowvents can prevent dead zones of unheated or uncooled areas.

As illustrated at 360, the computer processor can turn on a heating unitor a cooling unit as a function of the temperature set point data andthe temperature data in a single virtual zone in a room in the building.In this manner, whenever any particular virtual zone requires heated orcooled air, that virtual zone is supplied with such heated or cooledair, and the heated or cooled air may be withheld from other virtualzones based on the occupancy-controlled airflow vents in those othervirtual zones.

At 370, it is noted that the thermostats can be personal thermostats,and at 375, it is noted that the personal thermostats can be part of asmart phone. Such a smart phone not only has a thermostat associatedtherewith, but also a location sensor so that it can be determined inwhat virtual zone the smart phone is located. The use of a smart phoneprovides the ultimate in personal comfort control. Set point data,temperature sensor data, and location data can be transmitted from thesmart phone to the computer processor, and the computer processor cancontrol the opening and closing of the airflow vents in the appropriatevirtual zones as dictated by the occupancy sensor, the temperature setpoint, and the temperature data.

The Abstract is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b) and willallow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature and gist of thetechnical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that itwill not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of theclaims.

In the foregoing description of the embodiments, various features aregrouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamliningthe disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting that the claimed embodiments have more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of asingle disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Description of the Embodiments, with each claimstanding on its own as a separate example embodiment.

1. A process comprising: receiving into a computer processor temperatureset point data from a thermostat in a building; receiving into thecomputer processor temperature data from a temperature sensor in thebuilding; receiving into the computer processor occupancy data from aplurality of occupancy sensors in a plurality of virtual zones in a roomin the building; turning on a heating unit or a cooling unit as afunction of the temperature set point data from the thermostat and thetemperature data from the temperature sensor; and controlling the flowof heated air or cooled air into the plurality of virtual zones in theroom in the building by adjusting a plurality of airflow vents in theplurality of virtual zones in the room in the building as a function ofthe data received from the occupancy sensors.
 2. The process of claim 1,comprising: receiving temperature set point data from a plurality ofthermostats in the plurality of virtual zones in the room in thebuilding; and turning on the heating unit or the cooling unit as afunction of the temperature set point data from the plurality ofthermostats in the plurality of virtual zones in the room in thebuilding and the temperature data from the temperature sensor.
 3. Theprocess of claim 1, wherein the plurality of occupancy sensors comprisesone or more of an infrared sensor, a video sensor, a motion sensor, anda pressure sensor.
 4. The process of claim 1, comprising placing a firstairflow vent at a first edge of a first virtual zone in the room in thebuilding and placing a second airflow vent at an opposite second edge ofthe first virtual zone in the room in the building.
 5. The process ofclaim 1, comprising turning on the heating unit or the cooling unit as afunction of the temperature set point data and the temperature data in asingle virtual zone in the room in the building.
 6. The process of claim1, wherein the thermostat comprises a personal thermostat.
 7. Theprocess of claim 6, wherein the personal thermostat comprises a smartphone.
 8. The process of claim 1, wherein the plurality of virtual zonesin the room in the building is defined by an output airflow vent and aninput airflow vent.
 9. The process of claim 1, wherein the plurality ofvirtual zones in the room in the building is defined by an outputairflow vent, and input airflow vent, and computer processor logic. 10.A heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system comprising: acomputer processor; a thermostat coupled to the computer processor; atemperature sensor coupled to the computer processor; a plurality ofoccupancy sensors coupled to the computer processor, the plurality ofoccupancy sensors located in a plurality of virtual zones in a room in abuilding; a plurality of airflow vents; and a motor coupled to each ofthe plurality of airflow vents and to the computer processor; whereinthe computer processor is operable to: receive temperature set pointdata from the thermostat; receive temperature data from the temperaturesensor; receive occupancy data from the plurality of occupancy sensorsin the plurality of virtual zones in the room in the building; turn on aheating unit or a cooling unit as a function of the temperature setpoint data from the thermostat and the temperature data from thetemperature sensor; and control the flow of heated air or cooled airinto the plurality of virtual zones in the room in the building bytransmitting a signal to one or more of the motors coupled to each ofthe plurality of airflow vents so as to adjust the plurality of airflowvents in the plurality of virtual zones in the room in the building as afunction of the data received from the occupancy sensors.
 11. The HVACsystem of claim 10, comprising a plurality of thermostats in theplurality of virtual zones in the room in the building.
 12. The HVACsystem of claim 10, wherein the occupancy sensor comprises one or moreof an infrared sensor, a video sensor, a motion sensor, and a pressuresensor.
 13. The HVAC system of claim 10, comprising a first airflow ventat a first edge of a first virtual zone in the room in the building anda second airflow vent at an opposite second edge of the first virtualzone in the room in the building.
 14. The HVAC system of claim 10,wherein the computer processor is operable to turn on the heating unitor the cooling unit as a function of the temperature set point data andthe temperature data in a single virtual zone in the room in thebuilding.
 15. The HVAC system of claim 10, wherein the thermostatcomprises a personal thermostat.
 16. The HVAC system of claim 15,wherein the personal thermostat comprises a smart phone.
 17. The HVACsystem of claim 10, wherein the plurality of virtual zones in the roomin the building is defined by an output airflow vent and an inputairflow vent.
 18. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein the plurality ofvirtual zones in the room in the building is defined by an outputairflow vent, and input airflow vent, and computer processor logic. 19.A computer readable storage device comprising instructions that whenexecuted by a processor executes a process comprising: receivingtemperature set point data from a thermostat in a building; receivingtemperature data from a temperature sensor in the building; receivingoccupancy data from a plurality of occupancy sensors in a plurality ofvirtual zones in a room in the building; turning on a heating unit or acooling unit as a function of the temperature set point data from thethermostat and the temperature data from the temperature sensor; andcontrolling the flow of heated air or cooled air into the plurality ofvirtual zones in the room in the building by adjusting a plurality ofairflow vents in the plurality of virtual zones in the room in thebuilding as a function of the data received from the occupancy sensors.20. The computer readable storage device of claim 19, comprisinginstructions for: receiving temperature set point data from a pluralityof thermostats in the plurality of virtual zones in the room in thebuilding; and turning on the heating unit or the cooling unit as afunction of the temperature set point data from the plurality ofthermostats in the plurality of virtual zones in the room in thebuilding and the temperature data from the temperature sensor.